Duane Morris LLP

Duane Morris' Construction Group is nationally ranked by Chambers USA among the leaders in the industry, with construction attorneys across the United States and around the world. The group's lawyers provide a full range of legal services to clients in all aspects of construction and government contracting, including:

• Contracting with public and private entities
• Public/private partnership (P3) projects
• Bid protests and award disputes
• Owner/developer project management representation
• Construction administration services and risk management
• Contract interpretation, complex contract claims and surety litigation
• Claims preparation and negotiation
• Interference and installation/specification issues
• Contract defaults and terminations
• Delay and inefficiency claims
• Federal procurement issues/stimulus
• Alternative dispute resolution
• BIM (Building Information Modeling)
• Sustainable design and engineering
• LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), and green building
• Bid, payment, and performance surety bonds
• Insurance coverage and claim disputes
• Mechanic's liens
• Contractor licensing matters
• Property damage claims
• Labor and employment counseling
• OSHA compliance and workplace safety issues

Duane Morris construction lawyers assist clients in addressing the legal challenges of engaging in the design, development, financing, performance and management of major construction and government procurement contracts. Our group has special experience working on complex, high-visibility projects in New York and other cities. Our national practice includes attorneys who regularly represent public and private owners and developers, prime contractors and subcontractors, construction managers, equipment suppliers, architects/engineers and other design professionals, and sureties. This breadth of experience enables us to handle the complete spectrum of issues arising before, during and after project completion.

Several of our construction partners have been ranked as leaders in the field by Chambers USA. One of our senior New York construction partners served for more than 10 years as general counsel to one of the East Coast's largest construction companies, and another served for 20 years as principal outside counsel to one of the largest construction companies in the United States.

Lawyers from the Construction Group frequently work with attorneys from Duane Morris' other practice areas to address the many issues associated with any particular project-whether tax, finance, real estate, environmental, energy and, when necessary, white-collar criminal defense, corporate investigations and regulatory compliance, or any other relevant issue. The firm's full range of practices enables us to offer clients sophisticated legal services that are coordinated and streamlined from coast to coast and internationally.

In addition, when public relations and quasi-political issues impact construction projects, we have been successful in coordinating teams of outside consultants-including public relations specialists and local government contacts-and getting projects back on track.

Range of Services

Contract Formation and Performance

• Developing contract documents that expressly allocate the risk, responsibility and rewards for proper performance essential to a successful project.
• Utilizing our considerable experience with numerous forms of contracts, from customized forms to standard industry and government forms-including the contracts of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), Consensus DOCS, the Engineers Joint Contracts Documents Committee (EJCDC) and the Construction Management Association of America (CMAA)-to develop the most appropriate contract forms for any project or task.
• Advising owners, developers, prime contractors, subcontractors, engineers, architects, other design professionals, sureties or other project team members, in forming and managing contractual relationships.

Claims Prevention

• Monitoring projects during construction to ensure awareness of issues and potential pitfalls, and to assist in the prevention or resolution of claims.
• Presenting seminars and written materials to our clients to educate their project managers, superintendents, engineers and others to the common pitfalls encountered on a construction project.
• Reviewing contract forms and procedures so clients are better able to avoid many situations that might result in claims or delays.

Construction Claims

• Handling claims, including changed or unforeseen conditions, delays, disruptions, loss of productivity, acceleration, payment disputes, insurance coverage and allegations of defective design or construction.
• Calculating extended project costs and unallocated home-office overhead using industry-recognized formulas, recommending qualified consultants to do so and, where appropriate, working closely with claims consultants to maximize benefits and minimize risks for our clients.
• Where possible, attempting to achieve an early and fair resolution of construction disputes without the expense and disruption of litigation.
• Engaging in all forms of alternative dispute resolution, including mini-trials, mediations and arbitrations, and presenting strategies to attempt to resolve disputes promptly, amicably and short of trial.
• When early resolution is not possible, our attorneys have considerable experience litigating complex, highly technical construction claims in trial and appellate courts at state and federal levels, before contract appeals boards and other administrative tribunals, as well as arbitrating before domestic and internationally sanctioned panels.

Government Contracts and Bid Protests

• Providing a full range of services in connection with government contracting at the local, state and federal level, and with international agencies.
• Duane Morris attorneys have litigated precedent-setting cases involving procurement laws and the awards process, and have written extensively on competitive bidding and related subjects.

Public-Private Partnership (P3) Projects

• Representing U.S. state and local governments, as well as developers, lenders and other private sector firms in P3 projects.
• Negotiating arrangements and establishing properly aligned incentives that are the foundation for successful P3 projects.

Default/Termination Claims and Surety Practice

• Handling the complex issues and claims arising from contractor and subcontractor default terminations as well as failed construction projects that can result in numerous payment and performance bond claims and default or termination of bonded contractors.
• Having extensively represented all sides of such disputes, we can provide our clients with unique insights into handling default terminations, negotiating no-cost terminations in many cases or obtaining terminations for convenience on behalf of improperly terminated contractors, as well as working and negotiating with, and litigating for or against sureties relating to payment and performance bond claims and indemnity obligations.

Architects, Engineers and Other Design Professionals

• Representing architects, engineers and other design professionals in contractual issues related to project delivery systems such as design-build, design-bid-build, fast-track or any combination, and advising on their relationships with owners, consultants, contractors or subcontractors, during the pre-design, design, construction and post-construction phases.
• Defending or prosecuting claims by or against design professionals, and by or against professional liability insurance carriers. Our practice in this area is enhanced by the group's experience in the formation and management of design professional practices.

Insurance Programs

• Advising clients concerning the competitive retention of insurance consultants and brokers including the preparation of request for proposals.
• Advising clients concerning various controlled insurance programs.
• Assisting in the negotiation of insurance policies and coverages for liability, pollution and property risks.

Labor and Employment

Our Employment Law practice represents management on such far-ranging issues as:

• Equal Employment Opportunity Commission concerns, and wage-and-hour (Davis-Bacon) matters.
• Personnel administration, Americans with Disabilities Act and Family Medical Leave Act compliance and related matters.
• Assisting clients' compliance with affirmative action requirements and First Source requirements (when applicable) at the bidding stage and with any audits or investigations.
• Providing clients with representation in union employment and labor-related problems.

Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) Compliance Issues

• Helping clients address the ever-changing health and safety regulations of federal, state and municipal agencies to protect individuals and property in the workplace.
• Assessing the scope and application of these regulations, the potential liabilities in ongoing project activities and appropriate responses to inspection issues or the issuance of subpoenas and citations.

Managing Environmental Risks

• With Duane Morris' environmental attorneys, keeping clients abreast of environmental risks on construction projects such as federal CERCLA and RCRA liabilities and compliance with state statutes and regulations.
• Representing environmental engineers, contractors, owners, sureties and insurance carriers in assessing environmental risk and resolving environmental issues in construction projects.

Sustainable Designed Construction

• Counseling clients on alternatives available to address sustainable/high energy efficiency/green building design and construction.
• Investigating available incentives and modeling contract documents to reflect the added responsibilities and risks.

Property Damage Claims

• Representing owners, contractors and other project participants in claims which often become very complex, arising out of property damage to projects during construction or to completed projects.
• Drawing on extensive experience in litigating numerous property damage cases, as well as our long history of dealing with insurance companies and claims adjusters, adding value on coverage questions and in settlement negotiations.

Participation in Construction Industry Groups

Our attorneys participate in, and hold leadership positions in, many construction industry organizations, including:

• Associated General Contractors of America
• American Institute of Architects
• Public Contract Section of the American Bar Association
• American Bar Association Construction Litigation Committee
• American Bar Association Forum on the Construction Industry
• Construction Financial Management Association
• Design-Build Institute of America
• International Bar Association
• American Arbitration Association
• London Court of International Arbitration
• Society of Construction Law
• Washington Building Congress
• Construction Law and Litigation Committee of the International Association of Defense Counsel
• U.S. Green Building Council's LEED AP Program

"In my discussions with Duane Morris leaders, they frequently speak about how diversity within their firm has enabled them to better serve their diverse clients. They understand that investing in diversity is a wise business decision that positions them for the marketplace of the future."

Don Liu
Senior VP, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary
Xerox Corporation

At Duane Morris, achieving diversity is paradoxical. By supporting and celebrating the differences of our attorneys - and the individual strengths that they bring - our firm culture expands, fostering creative solutions for our clients. But diversity at Duane Morris does not mean that we have a certain number of diverse attorneys; true diversity means that it is no longer noteworthy to see diverse lawyers leading our practice groups or managing client relationships. Ascending to positions of leadership and greater responsibility and providing the highest levels of client service is simply what is expected of all our lawyers. Diversity is another strong asset that adds to our collective abilities to meet the needs of our clients.

Our vision of diversity at Duane Morris is to realize an environment in which our lawyers' outstanding qualities are not just measured by ethnicity, race, gender and sexual orientation, but more importantly, that our lawyers are remarkable as excellent attorneys above all else. Only then can we celebrate our differences while focusing on the common pursuit of legal excellence which everyone shares at Duane Morris.

To reach this goal, Duane Morris understands that the familiar diversity strategies and policies that most law firms have are needed. Without demanding results from such policies, most law firms are bound to fail in even achieving numerical hiring and retention goals. Duane Morris has been proactive and ambitious in its efforts to improve diversity at the firm, and has set deadlines for reaching the milestones which mark our progress. To create a more diverse law firm, Duane Morris is:

• Committed to strategically increasing our diversity levels, which is currently at 10 percent.
• Bringing together our Diversity Committee and our Hiring and Retention Committee to raise diversity as an important factor in our hiring decisions.
• Dedicated to improving retention by building upon our monitoring and mentoring program for all diverse associates.

Combining new initiatives with our longstanding diversity efforts, Duane Morris has seen increasingly positive results. In the Minority Law Journal's annual diversity survey of the nation's largest 260 firms, Duane Morris continued to improve its regional and national ranking, rising to number 136 of all firms surveyed. Our strides in Philadelphia are encouraging; in a city known for both the racial diversity of its population and the lack thereof in its law firms, Duane Morris is one of only two law firms to exceed the national average of minority partners at all law firms. Additionally, Duane Morris leads all national law firms based in Philadelphia in the number of Latino partners. Nearly 30 percent of all of our attorneys are women, and more than 20 percent of our partners are women.

In our approach to diversity, progress in racial, gender and cultural diversity cannot be measured in numbers alone. Duane Morris has focused our diversity initiatives on both increasing the number of diverse associates and addressing the challenges diverse attorneys face in building lasting careers and rising to senior and leadership positions. While several of our key practice groups are led by diverse partners and female partners, Duane Morris endeavors to create a culture which will foster a deep pool of such attorneys who can then develop into the firm's future leaders. Duane Morris understands that simply hiring diverse associates will not change the diversity of the firm; Duane Morris is working to mentor and retain diverse associates so that our progress in racial, gender and cultural diversity is also reflected at the highest levels of leadership within the firm.

Our progress on gender diversity has been profound. We have no glass ceilings: women hold positions of leadership at all levels of management at the firm. Women lead a number of our key practice groups, including our Energy, Immigration and International practices, and serve on the firm's Executive Committee. The success of our female attorneys at Duane Morris has not gone unnoticed. Barbara Adams was chair of the firm's Finance Practice until her appointment by Pennsylvania Governor Edward Rendell to serve as General Counsel of the Commonwealth. In 2004, our longtime General Counsel, Gene E.K. Pratter, was approved by the United States Senate and is now a judge for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Our efforts to improve diversity extend beyond our firm's walls. The chair of our Diversity Committee, Nolan N. Atkinson, Jr., recognized the lack of diversity in Philadelphia's legal community and formed the Philadelphia Diversity Law Group. Nolan now serves as the chair of the organization, a consortium of 25 law firms and corporations that commits to employing at least one diverse first-year law student each as a summer associate. From this program, law students of diverse backgrounds gain access to what was once an exclusive legal community, and now have the opportunity to learn and develop their legal careers with experience at Philadelphia's top law firms.

In addition to our involvement in the Philadelphia area, Duane Morris has increased our presence at national conferences and events focused on diversity. We sponsor the Hispanic National Bar Association and its job fair. Duane Morris is also a longtime supporter and sponsor of the Equality Forum, a national gay and lesbian rights organization. Duane Morris continues to sponsor the Minority Corporate Counsel Association, and is active in other associations of diverse attorneys including: the Asian American Bar Association of the Delaware Valley; the Charles Houston Bar Association; Cuban Bar Association; Korean American Lawyers Association; National American Indian Housing Counsel and the National Bar Association.

The challenge of improving gender, ethnic and cultural diversity at Duane Morris is an ongoing effort that has the support of the entire firm. Duane Morris has been at the vanguard in supporting gender diversity throughout the firm beginning a generation ago. Our diversity programs are leading to similar success in improving racial and national origin diversity at Duane Morris. But even as we share these examples of Duane Morris attorneys and our involvement in numerous legal events, associations and programs for diversity, our hope is that such examples will no longer be necessary to mention in the future. We hope that through our efforts, and the efforts of other law firms, these stories become so common that they are no longer the remarkable accomplishments they are today, but simply routine aspects of the legal world tomorrow.